The Child of Time
by GreenTaurus
Summary: Nikolai learns that he is Cronos's son when he is dragged to Camp Half-Blood, and that he is from the future. With the friends that he makes and the ones from the past he has lost, can he stop the war of the future, or will Earth fall to a hidden foe?
1. Chapter 1

**_Chapter 1: Captured_**

Percy and Annabeth were summoned to Chiron's office for a mission.

"We've received reports from a satyr that there's a demigod at Ridgewood Reform School. Apparently, the satyr needs help to retrieve the boy, so I'm sending you two. Be careful. Supposedly, he's dangerous." Percy high doubted that the boy was as dangerous as the satyr had reported, but he didn't voice his opinion. He and Annabeth left on a chariot drawn by pegasi, Annabeth driving.

Nikolai Samhain hopped over the school's high fence quickly, making it just before the end of the thirty seconds it took the cameras to turn to the blind spot. He pushed the bang of his platinum blonde hair out of his face as he examined the walls of the school's dingy, tiny alleyway between the buildings. Feeling along the wall, he eventually found the loose, slightly paler brick he was looking for and pried it loose. A sinister grin spread across his face as he pulled the two hunting knives and the switchblade from their hiding spot. Nikolai ran through the small space, emerging on the rarely used side of the school. All of the other students were in their classes, where he should have been, so no one was around to see him hop over the tall, spiked fence with skill and ease, running as fast as he could away from the school.

Nikolai only stopped once he was far enough away from the school, waiting at the bus stop so he could leave the damn school and go to his hideout to wait for his cousin. As he stood there, silver eyes flickering around, watching for cops or security guards from the school, Nikolai noticed a strange, elderly woman standing a few feet away from him. He had seen her around Ridgewood several times, always watching him, so he was anxious to get on the bus and far away from her. She glared at him and scowled.

"It's time for you to come with me." He didn't even get to ask what she was talking about. The woman transformed into a terrifying monster he immediately recognized as a Fury. The Fury flew at him, aiming to grab him with her talons. Nikolai didn't budge, he just pulled out his hunting knives and blocked her talons, being knocked back a good couple of feet as a result. He bolted up and dodged her next blow, trying to cut her with a knife as he dodged. The steel didn't cut nearly as deep as he would have liked and the wound only served to enrage the Fury even more. The Fury shoved Nikolai against the wall of a brick building, grinning ghoulishly. "No more games. You're mine now." A black haired teen suddenly dropped down from the sky, cutting the Fury in half with his sword. Nikolai wasted no time. He tackled the boy and pinned him to the ground, a hunting knife at the boy's throat. A golden chariot drawn by two, white and black pegasi landed near them, a blonde girl with gray eyes jumping out. Without so much as a glance in her direction, he flung his switchblade at her. The girl blocked the knife with one of her own, smirking.

"That was very well aimed. We're here to help you, so release Percy." Nikolai pressed his knife closer to Percy's neck, scowling.

"I don't know that for sure." He growled out, but put the knife away. Before Annabeth could even move, Nikolai knocked Percy out and threw Riptide at Annabeth. She easily dodged it, but turned and saw that Nikolai was gone. _Damn, he's good, but I'm better._ Annabeth would have pursued him, but there was no need to. A few minutes later, Nikolai was thrown to the ground in front of the chariot, tied up with a rope and disarmed, by Beckendorf. Beckendorf held Percy and their prisoner as they got onto the chariot and flew back to Camp Half-blood. Surprisingly, Nikolai didn't react at all to being kidnapped and flown to the camp via a pegasi drawn chariot. However, the second they landed in the camp, he pulled his ropes off and made a break for it.

"Stop him!" Annabeth yelled, chasing after Nikolai. Nikolai jumped over and dodged campers as he ran for the entrance he had seen as they flew there. _If I can get out of this camp, then I'll be able to find a way to hide._ A large group of teens in armor blocked his path, led by a very intimidating girl with a bronze sword.

"Don't kill him Clarisse!" Percy yelled, having just woken up and caught up to them. Nikolai scowled. He was fully surrounded with no weapons and no way out.

"Out of my way." He growled out, and Clarisse scowled.

"Like hell we're moving." Nikolai tackled an Ares boy, wrestling and managing to steal the boy's sword away. He held the blade like an expert, glaring at Clarisse.

"Bring it." She charged at him and he blocked her attack, parrying her moves and nearly delivering many of his own. It was almost like watching two experts dual, but, in the end, Clarisse was more experienced. She managed to slip underneath Nikolai's defenses and she almost stabbed him in the stomach. Almost. Nikolai dodged to the right, feeling the blood the blade had been able to draw before he was able to move. He tried to stand, but his legs gave out from under him. A strange tremor was moving up his body, and Nikolai was suddenly seeing images of a strange, dark creature. Annabeth, Percy, and Clarisse could only watch as the boy started trembling, and then blacked out.

"What did you do to him?" Percy asked, but Clarisse shook her head.

"I only grazed him. I don't know what the rest of that was about."

"We need to get him to the infirmary." Percy picked the other teen up and carried him into the infirmary, wondering what could have made him pass out.

* * *

><p>I hope you liked it. I hadn't thought that my first real fanfic would be for Percy Jackson and the Olympians, but it just happened. Review please. You know you want to...<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

**_Chapter 2: First Day_**

Nikolai woke up from the dark images in an unfamiliar room. His graze wound was healed and that was all he cared about. Without so much as a second thought, Nikolai bolted up and headed for the window. His head started to swim and he sat on the floor, his head resting on his knees, which were drawn up to his chest, until the nausea faded away.

"I see that you tried to escape already." A man in a wheelchair said, wheeling into the room and looking at Nikolai with a soft gaze. Nikolai only scowled and pushed himself farther from the man. He didn't trust anyone he had seen in the past day, especially since he had been taken against his will.

"What the fuck do you want with me?"

"We only want to help you. My name is Chiron. Allow me to explain your situation."

Percy couldn't believe it. The redhead from the Hermes cabin, a daughter of Hecate, couldn't reverse her spell.

"I'm sorry Percy. It'll wear off on its own though." Percy forced himself to smile and tell her that it was okay. _Really? What was she doing making a spell for making it so that someone could see certain things about someone else through kissing anyway? Seems completely useless._

"Percy! Chiron want's you in the Big House."

"Okay." Percy replied to Beckendorf, changing direction and going to the large house where the camp director, Dionysus, lived. Sitting in Mr. D's office, his wrists tied to the chair he was sitting in, was Nikolai. Chiron was there, in his magical wheelchair, and Mr. D sat behind his desk.

"This kid was really troublesome to capture. Peter, I want you to use that spell Beth put on you to find out whose kid this punk is." Nikolai struggled against his binds and swore in Ancient Greek, Spanish, and Italian. "You've got quite a mouth. Shut it or I'll cut your tongue out." Nikolai wisely shut up, but didn't stop struggling.

"My name is Percy and her name is Blair."

"Whatever. Just do it." Percy was reluctant to kiss the pale skinned, white haired teen, but knew he didn't really have a choice. _It'll be quick._ Percy thought, his lips pressing against Nikolai's. Nikolai's struggles intensified, then suddenly stopped. Percy had deepened the kiss, and Nikolai found himself enjoying it, his mind swimming in a fuzzy, warm haze. Percy's mind flooded with images as he kissed the slighter teen, the image of a black scythe appearing constantly. Percy drew back and his heart skipped a beat when he saw Nikolai's kiss bruised, red lips, the pale blush on his cheeks, the dimmed fire in his mercury eyes, and the fact that he was slightly panting. "Well Perry?" Percy rolled his eyes, but became completely serious.

"He's Cronus's son."

"Are you sure?" Dionysus asked, and Percy nodded.

"I kept seeing his image over and over again, so I'm pretty sure. We could test Nikolai to see, but, again, I'm nearly positive about this."

"Have him battle the Ares cabin. We have to be sure about this." Chiron untied Nikolai's bonds and, surprisingly, the boy went willingly with them. He still seemed to be dazed, which explained the lack of resistance. Now that Percy had time, he looked Nikolai over. Platinum blonde, nearly white hair reached to his shoulders, silver eyes, pale skin, and a slight, but toned build. Nikolai was wearing a black t-shirt, black, ripped jeans, and black combat boots.

"Where were you even headed?" Nikolai looked at Percy and scowled, but replied.

"I had to go somewhere to meet up with someone." Even though the answer was vague, it was still an answer, something Percy hadn't expected. Percy watched as Chiron led Nikolai through the weaponry, keeping an eye on him as Nikolai's silver gaze skimmed the weapons. Percy knew from experience that Nikolai was good and very fast with knives, but was slightly shocked when Nikolai grabbed two black, steel, dual swords. Swinging them for a test, Nikolai sheathed them without a word and followed Chiron out of the weaponry.

"You chose Omega Augury. No one has used those blades in a long time. The last person was the kidnapper of Helen of Troy." Nikolai didn't seem to care though, he just unsheathed the blades as they neared the coliseum and glared down the Ares cabin.

"Push him until he uses his power." Mr. D commanded as soon as Percy and Chiron were up in the stand with him, and the entire Ares cabin attacked. Nikolai moved incredibly fast and it became obvious that he had a lithe body and impressive skills with the dual swords. Soon, it came down to only him, Clarisse, and a handful of Ares campers. Clarisse was the one to charge the exhausted Nikolai, and, regardless of how much he blocked her, he ended up pressed against the wall. Clarisse went straight for a finishing blow to the side, but froze. Nikolai was gasping for breath, and it didn't look like Clarisse was breathing at all. A cold feeling had hit Nikolai in the gut and had flowed out as the girl had tried to stab him. Now, she was completely frozen, barely breathing.

"Unfreeze her." Dionysus commanded, but Nikolai ignored him. Percy looked, and saw a terrified look in the boy's previously strong, determined, silver eyes. His lips were moving incredibly fast as he whispered something, and Percy caught pieces of it.

"This isn't happening...can't be...Not again...Don't hate me...I'm sorry..."

"Nikolai, calm down." Percy said, and Nikolai pulled back from him, warily holding his swords in front of himself. "I'm not going to hurt you. Let Clarisse go, and we'll talk about it." Nikolai slowly lowered his swords, sheathing them, and slowed his breathing down, focusing on drawing that cold feeling back inside and locking it away. Clarisse fell to her left knee, glaring up at Nikolai as she gasped for breath.

"He's...Cronus's kid...all right." She said in-between gasps, and Nikolai tried to run. He slipped past their defenses and seemed to vanish into thin air.

"Search for him! We can't lose him!" Mr. D yelled, and the entire camp started searching for Nikolai. Percy searched, along with Annabeth and Clarisse, but they couldn't find him anywhere. Night fell, and the campers had withdrawn from the search for dinner. Percy heard quiet mutterings and found Nikolai huddled up in the corner of the storage closet of the weaponry, a space no one had even thought about. He was asleep, but shivering. Percy put his hand on Nikolai's forehead and frowned. _He's got a fever._

"Hey, wake up." Percy gently shook Nikolai, and his silver eyes cracked open slightly.

"Go...away. You...just want to...kill me or...lock me away like...the others." He leaned his head back against the wall, and Percy pulled out a thermos of liquid ambrosia.

"Drink this. It'll make you feel better." When Nikolai didn't take it, Percy realized that he had passed out. Sighing, Percy drank some of the ambrosia, holding it in his mouth, and kissed Nikolai, making him drink the ambrosia. Nikolai's eyes fluttered open and he weakly pushed against Percy's chest, before giving in. Percy removed his hand from the back of Nikolai's neck and drew back, Nikolai scooting away from him, blushing softly and scowling.

"Don't ever do that again." Nikolai said weakly.

"Come here so I can check your fever again." Nikolai didn't move, so Percy went over to him, holding his wrists as Nikolai tried to push him away in favor of moving away from the feeling of the warm body pressed against his own. Nobody ever got that close to Nikolai, and he didn't know how to react other than to move away. Percy put his hand on Nikolai's forehead as the door opened softly. Nikolai heard it, and saw Annabeth enter. "The fever's gone, that's good. Now, you're coming back to the Big House with me."

"You found him." Annabeth said, drawing Percy's attention to how they must have looked. Nikolai was pressed against the wall, Percy practically straddling him and holding his wrists. Percy quickly moved away and nodded.

"We should take him to Dionysus, or maybe the cafeteria since everyone's there right now." Annabeth agreed, her gray eyes never leaving Nikolai's silver eyes. She was glaring at him, and Percy couldn't figure out why. Nikolai went along willingly, too exhausted to fight, and Mr. D scowled.

"I talked to Zeus after Nicholas ran off and he said to keep him here as a camper. He'll be staying in the Big House with me only for tonight, in the basement room. Tomorrow, he'll stay in the Hermes cabin. Now go get some food." They did, and Percy sat with Nikolai, since everyone seemed to be watching him warily. Beckendorf came over too, smiling cheerfully.

"Man, you were the only camper I've ever had to really fight to capture. Who taught you how to fight like that?"

"My mom used to be a high ranking gang member, so she taught me how to fight when I was young." Nikolai explained, eating ravenously.

"They must not have been feeding you back at that school." Percy joked.

"They weren't. If you broke certain rules, you were sent to your room without dinner. I broke quite a few of those rules and slept through breakfast today." Percy and Beckendorf were amazed at how much food Nikolai could consume. He had at least five plates before he was finished, and went for a walk. Mr. D told them to follow him from a distance, once Nikolai was gone of course. They silently followed him as he walked into the monster filled forests, stopping once he neared a break in the trees and sitting down at the foot of a tree. They watched him, not knowing what he was doing, until Percy heard light snores. _He fell asleep out here?_ Beckendorf and Percy both thought, going around the tree to see Nikolai leaning back on the tree trunk, fast asleep. Percy picked Nikolai up and carried him all the way to the basement room of the Big House, which he hadn't know existed until that day. The room was relatively sparse, but that really didn't matter. He laid Nikolai down and pulled the cover over him. Nikolai's silver eyes opened slightly, looking up at Percy, and he closed them again. Percy watched Nikolai sleep for a while, and then left, heading to the Poseidon cabin before Mr. D could return to the Big House.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Chapter 3: Near Death_**

Dionysus scowled, glaring at the demigod (or demi-titan to be more precise) sitting in front of him. It was only the end of Nikolai's first week at Camp Half-Blood, and he had been thrown out of almost every cabin in the entire camp for fighting everyone in them. Now, the only places left were the Big Three's cabins and the Big House. "All right, Nicholas. Since you aren't allowed back in almost all of the cabins, I'm putting you in the Poseidon cabin with Peter. Get your stuff and go there now." Nikolai scowled, but didn't reply. He just glared at Mr. D and left. It wasn't his fault that everyone annoyed him. The Hermes kids shouldn't have touched his stuff, the Athena, Hephaestus, and Aphrodite kids were annoying, the Ares kids were asking for it, and everyone else just pissed him off or got on his nerves too god damn much.

Maybe it was his fault, since basically anyone and everyone were annoying to him. Nikolai didn't really want to go to the Poseidon cabin because Percy was there, and he had made it a point to avoid Percy. Every time he saw Percy, he thought about those _kisses_, and even when he didn't think about them, his stomach felt all weird and his heart started to race...which annoyed and confused him to no end. Nikolai set his stuff down on the front step of the cabin and pulled the small, silver chain out from under his shirt. On the silver chain was a silver peace sign. It had been with him since he was nine, which was where his earliest memories were. Nikolai couldn't remember anything before his ninth birthday, when he awoke in a park with the necklace on around his neck and a small, black box lying next to him. His adoptive mother had been standing above him, looking down worriedly at the small child she had discovered. Percy had just stepped out of his cabin and saw Nikolai just sitting on the steps, staring down at the peace sign pendant on the silver necklace around his neck with a melancholic gaze.

"Why are you just sitting here?" Nikolai dropped the pendant suddenly, startled, and it thumped against his chest as he jumped up, blushing softly.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing sneaking up on me like that?" Nikolai said, scowling at Percy's grin.

"You look so cute when you blush." Percy commented offhandedly, accidentally saying what he was thinking, and both of them blushed. Nikolai looked down at the ground, still scowling and blushing, grabbing his suitcases and going into the cabin. Percy was a little shocked when Nikolai chose the bed next to his, but hid his delighted smile. Without a word, Nikolai left out of the back entrance with Omega Augury, heading into the forests.

Over the next few days, Percy noticed a pattern in Nikolai's behavior. For one, Nikolai never trained with the demigods. Instead, he always headed out into the forests to train, returning only to eat, bath, and sleep. Another thing was the fact that he always seemed so angry and easily irritated with other people, except Percy apparently. Nikolai was a boy of few words, but many swears, and used them all very frequently when he was pissed off. Also, he seemed to be avoiding Percy as much as possible, and Percy guessed it was because of the kisses. By the Wednesday of Nikolai's third week, Percy had had enough and wanted to talk it out with Nikolai.

"Hey Nikolai, can I talk to you?" Percy asked as Nikolai headed out to breakfast, but Nikolai ignored Percy and kept going. He sat alone during breakfast and disappeared before Percy could catch up to him, but Percy was patient. Right after lunch, Percy stealthily followed Nikolai out into the forest to where he spent most of his time training. As they walked, Percy could hear growls from monsters, but ignored it to the best of his abilities. Nikolai pulled out his dual swords and began cutting and slicing motions, as if he was attacking an invisible enemy. He wasted none of his moves, which amazed Percy. Summoning his courage, Percy came out of his hiding spot and straight over to Nikolai, who sheathed his swords and scowled.

"What do you want?"

"Don't give me that look. What's your problem? You've been avoiding me since you got here." Nikolai tried to walk off, but Percy grabbed his wrist roughly. "Don't walk off. I want an answer." Nikolai blushed softly, turning his head so Percy wouldn't see it.

"I don't owe you an answer. Now let me go!" Nikolai pushed Percy off, and Percy fell to the ground, feeling a sudden stinging sensation in his hand. Both sea green eyes and mercury eyes spotted the deadly scorpion. _No!_ Nikolai thought, freezing time around Percy just as the venom started taking affect. Picking Percy up carefully, he carried him all the way back to camp, worry edged straight into his heart.


	4. Chapter 4

**_Chapter 4: Confessions_**

Annabeth came into the infirmary and slapped Nikolai, who was sitting beside Percy's bedside. Nikolai didn't even flinch, just sat like a statue and endured Annbeth's shouts. "How could you do this? You nearly killed Percy! He didn't do anything to you, so why did you hurt him?" Nikolai snapped suddenly, glaring at her with pure anger and sorrow.

"I didn't mean for this to happen! He grabbed me and I-I pushed him away and he fell. The damn scorpion stung him. I never saw it until he got stung. I didn't know it was there. Please...just leave me alone Annabeth." Nikolai's voice sounded strained and Annabeth realized that he really hadn't meant to nearly kill Percy. Silently, Annabeth pulled up another chair and sat beside him, both watching Percy, who was in a coma. After a few hours, Annabeth left, but Nikolai stayed. Every day it went like this: Nikolai would be there at dawn, leave for breakfast, return, leave for dinner, return, stay until someone kicked him out, if they kicked him out. Some nights, he would fall asleep in the chair during his silent vigil and no one would have the heart to wake him. It was obvious that he wasn't sleeping well, but no one knew why. One night, Nikolai left Percy to go take a quick shower and change clothes. He had just lain down to rest for only a few minutes, and fell fast asleep.

_**Darkness swirled in his vision; familiar voices called to him. He knew somehow that a boy of the sky, a girl of the water, and a girl of death were calling him, urging him to return to them, to help them fight. A dark blue Hydra appeared above a blonde woman and a brunette man, ignoring Nikolai as it killed them both. **_

Nikolai awoke with a start, gasping and shaking. He quickly put on some sneakers and ran back to the infirmary, sitting back down in his chair and watching over Percy. Over the time since the incident, he had come to terms with his feelings, the ones he didn't want, shouldn't have, and realized that he _loved _Percy. It was a scary thought for him, and only brought along more problems. Each time he sat, watching over Percy, he couldn't help but think of all of the negatives. _What if Percy hates me now? What if he doesn't like me like I like him? What if he wants nothing to do with me? My presence has only caused him trouble. I should leave and just go home. I'm not welcome here anyway._ The light in the dark infirmary room flickered on and Nikolai immediately looked over at the door tiredly, and saw Mr. D standing there.

"What are you still doing up? It's nearly one in the morning. Jackson isn't going anywhere, so go rest. You look like you need it." _I feel like it too._ Nikolai shook his head and stared down at Percy. "Can't sleep?" Nikolai nodded softly, not willing to mention the nightmares of jumbled, faded memories. Bits and pieces were suddenly coming back to him, but never enough to make any sense of anything. Dionysus made two six packs of beer appear and handed them to Nikolai, who looked at him like he was crazy. "Drink and you'll be able to sleep in no time. Now go." Nikolai sighed, looking back at Percy one more time, and left with the beers. Within the hour, Percy woke up groggily to see Mr. D standing above him. "Took you long enough to wake up. Annabeth was being annoying and your little boyfriend was sitting around here like a statue. He rarely left, and hasn't been sleeping either."

"Where is he now?"

"Back at your cabin. Beer makes a person say what they really think and feel." Dionysus left before Percy could question him. Shrugging, Percy left and went to his cabin, more concerned for Nikolai than himself at the moment. Besides, Percy felt fine so he was fine, but not prepared for the sight before him. Nikolai was sitting shirtless in his bed, downing canned beers like it was nothing. Percy's eyes wandered to Nikolai's exposed, pale chest, and spotted the delicately defined muscles. He finished off his fourth can and burped, giggling. Nikolai's unfocused, silver eyes spotted Percy immediately and, faster than Percy thought he could move, Nikolai had his arms around Percy's neck.

"I'm sorry! I shouldn't have p-pushed you!"

"You were worried about me?" Nikolai nodded into Percy's shoulder, where his head was nestled.

"Uh huh." This Nikolai was way different than the cold, distant one he had come to know, making Percy decide to pose a special question to him.

"How do you really feel about me?" Nikolai stepped back suddenly, looking down at the ground and blushing. Slowly, Nikolai brought his mercury eyes up to look into Percy's sea green eyes.

"I-I love you." Percy's jaw nearly dropped. _So this is what Mr. D meant. He honestly loves me._ "I-If you hate me, I'll leave the camp." Nikolai quickly added, fiddling with his chain. Percy shook his head and hugged Nikolai.

"I don't hate you. I'm in love with you. Now, you need to rest. I bet you're really tired." Nikolai nodded softly, and Percy pushed the beer cans onto the floor, Nikolai lying down in the bed and pulling Percy down with him unexpectedly.

"Sleep with me. I don't wanna remember." Nikolai muttered, and Percy obliged, feeling Nikolai cuddle up to him, his breathing slowly evening out. _What doesn't he want to remember?_ Percy pondered as he felt himself drifting off.


	5. Chapter 5

**_Chapter 5: Departing_**

Sunlight poured in through the curtains, waking Nikolai up. _My head is fucking killing me._ Nikolai thought, realizing suddenly that he was cuddled up against a warm body. He blushed and felt the previous night's memories washing over him. _I confessed, but he feels the same way. Where do we go from here?_ Nikolai thought, staring up at the ceiling. Percy smiled against Nikolai's soft, platinum blonde hair, kissing the slighter teen on the forehead.

"Good morning." Nikolai blushed softly, snuggling up against Percy without a word. Percy had been a little surprised that Nikolai hadn't immediately gotten up and went out to train like he normally did, but stayed in the bed, snuggled up against Percy. After a while, they reluctantly got out of the bed and dressed, throwing away the beer cans, and went to breakfast. Percy ignored the seating rule and sat with Nikolai, teasing out a bit of information about his life. Carelessly, Percy asked about what he didn't want to remember. Percy saw the way Nikolai's body stiffened, his muscles drawing taut as if he would bolt at any second. Nikolai forced himself to relax and took a deep breath.

"I have no memories up until my ninth birthday. It's like there's some kind of wall sealing the rest of my memories away. All I remember is waking up in a park wearing this chain with a black box lying in the grass next to me. My mom, the woman that found me and adopted me, has always told me that I'll regain my memories eventually. For some reason, they're coming back now in my dreams, but vaguely. So far, I remember what my parents look like, I remember that I was close to a boy and two girls, and that my parents were killed by a Hydra." Percy didn't know what to say, but Nikolai wasn't finished. Quietly, he reluctantly added what he didn't want anyone else to know. "Every time I remember something, no matter how vague it is, I feel like I don't belong here, and that the others are waiting for me to come help them, to fight alongside them. I don't know why or how, but I do know that I _have_ to return to them." Percy grabbed his hand underneath the table, squeezing it comfortingly.

"I'll help you find your memories and your friends. Annabeth might be willing to help us too." A black haired, younger teen came rolling from the shadows of a nearby tree. Nico Di Angelo nearly rolled straight into their table, but Nikolai froze the time around him, stopping him mid-tumble. Unfreezing Nico, Nico ended up just falling flat on his stomach.

"Ouch, that hurt."

"What happened Nico?" Percy asked, and Nico slowly stood up, ignoring the fact that he was filthy and his clothes were torn in several places and singed in others. Nico eyed Nikolai nervously, full aware of the fact that Nikolai's body language was tense, Omega Augury in its rest form as a simple, black ring on both ring fingers. Suddenly, both black dual swords appeared and Nikolai had the tip of one at Nico's throat, barely touching his Adam's apple.

"Child of Hades, state your name and the reason that you shadow traveled here." Nico's eyes widened and he gulped. No one had ever known what he was from simply just looking at him, or knew what shadow traveling was.

"My name is Nico Di Angelo and I traveled here to escape from the Chimera and the harpies." Nikolai's swords transformed back into his rings and he held his hand out to Nico.

"My name is Nikolai Samhain, son of Cronus." Nikolai's cold, mercury eyes watched Nico closely as his eyes widened a fraction more. Instead of running or cringing away like most of the demigods had, Nico hesitantly shook his hand, only scared of the boy's intimidating atmosphere. Nikolai visibly relaxed just a fraction, and he shook Nico's hand.

"How did you know?" Nico asked, and Nikolai shrugged.

"I know another child of Hades, a daughter."

"What? I have a half-sister? Where is she?" Nico asked, stunned and slightly excited. Nikolai's eyes turned blank and he frowned.

"I-I don't know. I can't remember." Percy quickly explained to Nico about Nikolai's memory loss and about wanting to help him recover his memories.

"I'll help too." Nico said, only a bit afraid. After all, the dark atmosphere around Nikolai was still there, although it dimmed when he was near Percy. Nico couldn't help but wonder what made Nikolai so dark, but refrained from asking. They left and asked Annabeth if she knew anything about amnesia. She questioned Nikolai and shook her head.

"He doesn't have amnesia. Nikolai, your memories have been sealed away and the seal is coming undone. Whoever sealed your memories away had to be extremely powerful, maybe even a god or a titan."

"Why would either do something like that?" Percy asked aloud, but Nikolai had paled, his eyes blank and distant. _**He was five years old, being pulled down a narrow path in the woods by a blonde, blue eyed boy, the boy of the sky. "Speed up Nikolai! If we don't hurry, the girls will eat all of the chocolate chip cookies without us!" Darien moved his hand from Nikolai's wrist to his hand, pulling him along even faster, talking about all of the foods he would eat once he got to the community picnic.**_ "Nikolai!" Percy yelled, shaking him roughly. Nikolai blinked, dazed and confused.

"P-Percy...what happened?"

"You turned into a zombie on us all of a sudden." Percy replied, Nico coming over to the. Nikolai was lying down in Annabeth's bed, but couldn't remember how he had gotten there. One minute, they were talking outside of the Athena cabin, and the next he was in her bed. "I carried you in here and put you in Annabeth's bed."

"The memory seal unraveled more, didn't it? You had a memory." Annabeth said, and Nikolai nodded.

"It was a good one though. I remembered the boy. He's Zeus's son and his name is Darien. I knew him when I was younger, and the two girls." Nikolai said quietly, thinking. He knew that he couldn't stay at the camp, not anymore. He _had_ to leave and ask his mother about the black box, about the memory seal. She had the Sight, so she might now something. That night, as Percy slept silently in the bed next to his, Nikolai packed his most prized belongings and a few clothes in a black backpack, wrote Percy a quick goodbye note explaining what he was doing, kissed Percy softly on the cheek, and left Camp Half-Blood, a feeling of dread settling into the pit of his stomach.


	6. Chapter 6

**_Chapter 6: Arrival_**

Mr. D and Chiron watched Percy pace back and forth in Mr. D's office, right behind Annabeth's and Nico's chairs. "Enough already Peter. We know where Nicholas is headed, so I'm sending you three to go retrieve him." Chiron and Dionysus both noticed how Percy had stopped pacing, his spine going rigid as he did.

"Then let's go." Annabeth didn't say anything about Percy's behavior, just sat silently alongside Nico, who fidgeted as he thought about the quest. Nikolai's note had said that he was going to seek some answers and not to follow him, but everyone present in the Big House knew that the only person he could get his answers from was his mother. As soon as they were dismissed, Percy left to pack a backpack for the quest, but Annabeth stopped him halfway to his cabin.

"There's something that's been bothering me. Nikolai remembered a black box, but never anything else about it. That box might be important, since it was with him when he was found. Once we're at his house, we need to get that box and find out why it was the only thing found with him."

"All right." Percy said, going to his cabin. The trio left around noon, Mrs. O'Leary following behind them. "Why is she coming too?" Percy asked as Nico led the hellhound out of the camp grounds.

"We're going to use her to shadow travel."

"Won't it take a lot of energy from her to take all of us?" Percy said worriedly, petting Mrs. O'Leary's leg.

"Yes, but she can handle it. Besides, I wouldn't be able to take all of us as far as we need to go if we're going to catch up with Nikolai, but she can." The hellhound barked in agreement and bent down so they could climb up. Mrs. O'Leary ran straight a tree's shadow, and soon they were coated in complete darkness, emerging from the dark tunnel and out into a filthy, dingy alleyway. Annabeth jumped down, avoiding a muddle puddle, and Nico and Percy dismounted right behind her. It took them a while to find the right house, Percy having to keep Mrs. O'Leary from peeing on several people's cars as they searched. The house turned out to be a simple black and white house with two floors and a basement. Annabeth knocked on the black door and a blonde woman with bright green eyes opened the door, dressed in loose cargo pants and a black t-shirt. The woman's body was obviously toned from working out, and the scarf tied around her blonde hair indicated that she was doing something back in the house.

"Who are you?" She wasted no time with useless questions apparently.

"We're Nikolai's friends. Has he come home yet?" The woman sighed, shaking her head sadly at the group.

"Next time you demigods try looking for someone, actually find out if they have friends before using such an excuse. Come in then, but the hellhound stays outside." Mrs. O'Leary whimpered, but Percy petted her and told her to stay near the house. They went inside of the house, slightly surprised at the bright interior.

"We've heard about you from Nikolai."

"That I'm an ex-gangster? Yeah, I taught him a lot about fighting, although he wasn't completely new to it when I found him. When he didn't meet up with his cousin, I figured that your lot had gotten him." She sat down in the large, dark brown, leather armchair in the living room and they sat on the long, dark brown, leather couch. "Why would he be coming back home?"

"Nikolai's memories were sealed away, and he's trying to find some answers. We were trying to help him, but he ran away before we could." The woman sighed, releasing her tied back hair from the black bandana.

"I see. Nikolai is my son, whether by birth or not, and I have always tried to do what's best for him. That's why I taught him to fight. I didn't know he was a demigod, but I had a feeling that he was in danger, which is why I trained him in everything I knew. Once he was released from the reform school, I was going to move on to teaching him about poisons, but I guess I'll just have to give him my notebooks on them instead." Another knock came from her door and she opened it. Nikolai stood in the doorway, his clothes and hair singed and ripped. "What happened to you?" Ms. Samhain asked and Nikolai answered honestly, his voice tired.

"I killed the Chimera on my way over here." Nikolai's jaw dropped when he saw them sitting in his living room. "Fuck, can't you guys take a hint? I didn't want you involved." His mother smacked him in the back of the head.

"No swearing in my fucking house unless I'm the one doing it." Nikolai grinned softly, kissing his mom on the cheek before plopping down in the other dark brown armchair, rubbing his temples in exhaustion and annoyance. He was dead tired, and didn't want to know what Percy's insistent, heavy gaze meant.

"Nikolai's memories were sealed away. Do you know who would do that, or why?"

"No, but I still have the box I found him with. Nikolai, it was meant for you to open only when you were ready for the truth."

"I want to know." Nikolai said, all traces of exhaustion out of his voice. His mother sighed and left, returning a few minutes later with the seamless, metallic black box. It just looked like a black cube, with no cracks indicating any openings. Nikolai took it gingerly and set it on the table so everyone could see. His hands automatically shifted until they hit some kind of fingerprint scanner. The box hummed to life and a hologram of the lithe, blonde woman he had seen in one of his memories appearing above the box. She was wearing a simple, light blue dress and her mercury eyes looked out warmly.

"Hello Nikolai. If you are seeing this, then it's time for you to know the truth."


	7. Chapter 7

**_CHapter 7: Answers_**

Nikolai couldn't tear his eyes away from the woman, an emotion stirring deep in his chest. Without a doubt, he knew that this was his birth mother.

"I wish things could have been different, but they're not. I guess I'll start from the beginning. My husband, which would be your father but isn't, and I went on our second honeymoon in Tijuana. Obviously, I got wasted and went back to our hotel room, leaving Andrew back at the club with a couple we had befriended. When he came back, we, well, got quite busy. In the morning, when he wasn't there, I realized that it wasn't him that I had fucked. Turns out that Andrew had slept at the couple's house, too drunk to make it to our hotel. Around that time, the Demigod War broke out, otherwise known as World War IV. A prophecy was released at the beginning of the war:

_The children of the gods clash;_

_And as the world comes to an end_

_Only six demigods can make it bend._

_One of the sky,_

_One of the owl,_

_Two of death,_

_Two of the sea_

_will rise and help decide what will be._

_In the end, only the child of time can make the choice_

_for the world to perish, or rejoice._

It didn't take long for me to realize that you weren't a normal child. Somehow, I could tell that you were more than a demigod. My friends had each been impregnated as well, and their children were born around the same time as you. In fact, you're all a few months apart. The war intensified around the time you were born, and a mark appeared before my eyes. It was a scythe, and, even though it was only an illusion, I realized that you were the child of time. By the time you and the others were five, it was obvious that they weren't normal demigods either. Akira had a knack for summoning spirits, Darien accidentally electrocuted a bully, and Veronica could breathe underwater. We tried to hide you four, but it didn't work. By the time you all were nine, we had to make a painful decision. We managed to steal a diluted vial of water from the River Lethe and used it to erase your memories, and then we used a time travel machine to send each of you to different time periods. The box will allow you to travel back to our time period. All you have to do is ask it to take you back by using the password. Goodbye, Nikolai, and remember that I love you, in case that I'm not around any longer when you return."

The hologram disappeared and Percy put his arm around Nikolai's shoulders, Nikolai realizing that he had been trembling slightly from his emotions. He was confused and his heart was all jumbled up now. Only one thing seemed clear to him: he needed to rest. Mumbling about going to sleep, Nikolai shrugged Percy's hand off and went up to his black room, collapsing into his bed and silently weeping, but he didn't know why. _Gods damn it! Why the fuck am I crying?_ He knew though. He had seen his birth mother and his "father" being killed by the Hydra, and he had just learned that he was the result of Cronus's deception; basically a mistake that shouldn't be alive. A warm hand rubbed his back soothingly as he cried into his pillow, but Nikolai's body stiffened at the touch. It wasn't his mom's hand, he could tell just from the feel of it, but it was Percy's instead. He relaxed into the touch, crying himself out, and then falling fast asleep.

Once Nikolai was snoring softly, barely making a sound really, Percy left his room. He had followed after Nikolai after a few minutes, leaving Nico and Annabeth with Nikolai's mother. Upon his return, he saw that Nico was gone.

"He went to go get Mrs. O'Leary." Annabeth said, coming out of the kitchen where she had been helping Ms. Samhain start to cook.

"Percy, are you honestly willing to keep following Nikolai, no matter where it takes you? He's from the future. If you continue to follow him, then you'll lose everyone you have here." Percy froze at that, an image of his own mother appearing in his head. He didn't think that he could just leave her like that, but knew that, deep in his heart, he had already decided.

"Yes."

"Then I'm coming with you. I want to see what the future is like, and I figured that you would need my help finding the other demigods in the prophecy and ending that war."

"I'm coming too." Nico said, having silently reentered the house. Percy nearly jumped into the air, but hid his fright. He wanted to say no, but the stubborn look in Nico's eyes told him that he didn't have a say in his decision.

"We should leave once we're all well rested, Nikolai especially." Annabeth said, and start plotting out what they might need. Percy secretly wanted to take Mrs. O'Leary with them, but didn't know if that was possible. Nico was obviously uncomfortable with encroaching on Ms. Samhain, even though she had told them that they weren't leaving until they were well rested and full prepared to move on. Percy snuck back up to Nikolai's room as Nico was kidnapped and forced to help in the kitchen. Nikolai's room was painted black with black carpet and a black and white comforter and sheet set on his bed.

A black computer sat on the dark brown desk, and his closet door was ajar. Percy ignored those things, kicked off his shoes, and managed to work the covers out from under Nikolai's body to covering both of them as he laid down beside him. Nikolai subconsciously shifted towards Percy's body, his brow knitted in worry as he dreamed.

_**Akira, seven now, sat at the edge of the lake, talking to the spirit of a boy that had drowned there. Akira's long, black, pin straight hair was free from its usual ponytail and cascaded down her back, stopping in the middle of her back. Darien and Veronica, a curly haired brunette, were swimming out in the lake, Darien failing horribly to beat Veronica in swimming races. Nikolai just sat in his beach chair beside his mom and dad, Veronica's mother, Akira's father, and Darien's aunt all sitting on the shore in beach chairs as well. Nikolai's father grabbed him and picked him up, even as Nikolai giggled and struggled playfully, running out into the lake and dropping his son into the water. Nikolai surfaced and splashed his father, then Darien when he tried to jump Nikolai for a bear hug. The scene suddenly changed to Nikolai and the three other kids, all of them now teens, standing on the edge of a street littered with bodies, monsters roaming the streets, ignored by the demigods fighting there. Nikolai wanted to shout at them to stop fighting each other and fight the monsters instead, but he found that he had no voice. They could only watch as the demigods attempted to annihilate each other, a dark presence watching as well.**_

Nikolai awoke in the middle of the night to find Percy lying next to him in his bed, his arm resting on Nikolai's waist. He shuddered at the thought of those blood soaked streets, wondering if the future was really worth returning to.


	8. Chapter 8

**_Chapter 8: Welcome to the Future_**

Morning brought about deep melancholy in the group. Ms. Samhain knew that they would be leaving and made them all breakfast, lecturing them as only a mother could.

"Don't trust strangers, do dangerous drugs, or drink alcohol if you don't know where it came from. Be mindful of your surroundings and watch out for those that you don't know."

"I got it mom." Nikolai said, kissing his mother on the cheek. He had a backpack filled with essentials, mainly food provisions and weapons, just like the other demigods.

"Ready to go?" Percy asked, seeing how Nikolai was a little nervous about this. Mrs. O'Leary was coming as well, thanks to Nico helping Percy convince Annabeth that the hellhound could be extremely useful.

"I guess so." Nikolai said, grabbing the black box and staring intently at it. Annabeth wasn't sure if Nikolai even knew the password, since he barely remembered anything about his past, but was surprised when he proved her wrong. "Command: Return. Password: Child of Time." The box split open and a silver portal appeared in the air above it. They got Mrs. O'Leary through first, worrying that the giant hellhound wouldn't fit. Mrs. O'Leary vanished through the portal with Nico without any problems, and Annabeth went next. Nikolai quickly gave his mom one last hug and she kissed his forehead.

"Go kick some ass!" She said, Nikolai blushing as he grabbed Percy's hand and they went through together. The gray light blinded them, and they were suddenly disoriented. Opening their eyes, Nikolai realized that where they were standing was, at once, familiar but foreign. Mrs. O'Leary was barking and growling at a tree, much to Nico's shock, since hellhounds never growled at dryads. A black haired Japanese girl faded out from the shadows, having shadow traveled there. Her black hair was tied up in a high ponytail and her dark blue eyes scanned the group, looking each over expectantly. Upon spotting Nikolai, she went over to him and hugged him.

"I was wondering when you'd return to us." Nikolai smiled softly.

"These are my friends. The girl is Annabeth Chase, your half-brother is Nico Di Angelo, the hellhound is Mrs. O'Leary, and this is Percy Jackson. Everyone, this is Akira Yoshika, daughter of Hades."

"It's them." She whispered, grabbing them all and dragging them through the alley behind the rundown, empty buildings. "You don't know who you brought through with you, do you?"

"Not as you know them apparently. Why?"

"Percy Jackson is the one that helped save Olympus from Cronus, had the Big Three's pact destroyed, made them claim all of their children and care about lesser gods' children, and he helped avoid the second demigod war. Annabeth Chase also played a key role in that war and Nico Di Angelo did as well. Jackson and Di Angelo were the last children of the Big Three to be born, besides Thalia, who's a Hunter of Artemis, and her brother Jason, who died a long time ago back in their rightful time." Akira said, leading them through the backstreets.

"So, what should I know now that I don't remember?"

"That you're the deciding piece to this fucking war. Darien, Veronica, and myself, along with Nico, Annabeth, and Percy, are major pieces, but you'll be the one who ultimately decides if the world ends or not." _That's just fucking great! I don't know shit about this war and I'm supposed to end it._

"What happened to this city?" Annabeth asked, and Akira frowned.

"The war happened. Humans got caught up in the middle of it and many cities have fallen because of it. Humans are also being forced to help fight this pointless war for food and resources, travel in search of resources, or stay put and scavenge for them. This is where most of the war's battles take place, so it was hit hardest. Both sides are too blind to notice that while they're fighting, monsters are going around killing people." A gorgon ran across the street at the sound of their approach, charging them, and Akira decapitated her with her all black katana without looking.

"What about the resistance? How are they fairing?" Nikolai asked, slightly shocked that he remembered there was one. _My parents were part of it. That's why they sent us away._

"When all of our parents were killed and we vanished, the resistance almost fell apart. Luckily, there was someone to take it over and control it these past seven years. You'll meet her soon." They carefully crossed the street and ran into an abandoned grocery store. "The hellhound can't go any farther like that. I'll be right back." Akira vanished into the shadows and returned a second later with a redheaded boy. The boy was wearing a black t-shirt, blue jeans, and tan combat boots. "This is Finn, a son of Hecate and one of the most skilled of her children that are on our side. Finn, this is Nikolai, Percy, Annabeth, Nico, and Mrs. O'Leary. Can you work up a spell to hide her and change her size?" The boy looked Mrs. O'Leary over, muttering to himself.

"Yeah, but I'll need something to tie the spell to." Nikolai handed Finn his necklace and Finn nodded. "This'll do nicely." Finn's hands clasped around the necklace's charm and they glowed a vibrant violet. Mrs. O'Leary started to glow the same violet, and slowly shrank to the size of a normal Rottweiler. The magic disappeared and Finn handed Nikolai his necklace, which now had a dog's paw print on it. "That's as small as she'll get."

"Thanks." Nikolai replied, putting the necklace back on.

"Let's go." Akira escorted them through the shadows and they emerged in the alleyway behind a tall, stone, Catholic church. Walking down the deserted, ancient aisles, they stopped at the cross on the far wall. Akira pricked her finger on the cross and touched it. "Open." The stone wall next to the cross opened, the two, double doors swinging back to reveal a narrow, stone passageway. "This way." Akira said softly, and the group followed her and Finn down into the bowels of the earth, unsure of what awaited them at the end of the mostly dark tunnel.


	9. Chapter 9

**_Chapter 9: Meeting Allies_**

"Nikolai!" Darien yelled, instantly grabbing Nikolai in a bear hug the second he emerged from the dark tunnel with Akira. Percy tried to suppress the instant feeling of jealousy at the way the blonde boy hugged _his_ boyfriend.

"Let me go already!" Nikolai yelled, hitting Darien in the head, but he just wouldn't let go.

"You've gotten meaner than when we were little kids." Darien squeezed harder and lifted Nikolai off of the ground, and a brunette girl with curly hair appeared out of nowhere and kicked Darien in the head.

"Let him go you over affectionate puppy!" Veronica yelled, a slight country accent to her voice from her time in the American south.

"I am not a puppy!" Darien whined back and Veronica hit him on the head with a rolled up newspaper.

"Bad puppy." He whimpered just like a dog and hid behind Nikolai playfully.

"If this was what I was missing than it wasn't so bad being back in the other time." Nikolai groaned out, making Darien whimper again.

"That's so mean! After all the effort it took for us to try to find you and you don't even want to be with us."

"I do, just not if you're going to be so annoying." Nikolai said, not wanting to deal with a sad Darien. Luckily, Darien was called over by three of Hephaestus's sons to help them move a couple of cannons, and Veronica watched as the four muscular boys carried the large cannons singlehandedly. "Oh, now isn't this a nice sight?"

"Ew, it's Darien." Akira said, and Nikolai felt the same way.

"That doesn't mean I can't appreciate what the gods have given him." Veronica countered, focusing on the Hephaestus boys' bodies next.

"Stop being such a pervert and bring the new arrivals to me." A voice boomed over the intercom, and Veronica grumbled about how their leader always caught her at her worst. "This way, she'll just love to see you guys." Veronica said, taking over as their guide while Akira and Finn left to go attend to the training humans in the other part of the underground HQ. Veronica led them to a dark brown, wooden door and opened it, strutting in without waiting to be let in. "Hey boss, I've brought Nikolai, and he brought friends." The red, leather swivel chair turned around and Nikolai's eyes widened in shock at the woman he saw sitting there. The woman wasn't even much of a woman; in fact, she was only about nineteen years old, the oldest demigod in the camp. She had medium length, red hair that stopped at her shoulders, pale skin, a scar running down her left eye, and the toned body of a warrior. It wasn't her looks though, that got his attention. It was her emerald green eyes that flashed with determination and instant love when they landed on him.

"You, Nikolai, come here." Nikolai hesitantly stepped forward, unsure of how his mother's reincarnation would treat him. She looked him over up and down before throwing an arm around his shoulders. "I can already tell that I'll like you a lot kid. As for your friends, they must be the rest of the demigods from the prophecy. This won't be good, I can tell you that much. The arrival of all of the final pieces means that this war is about to reach its end, and whether it ends in bloodshed or peace is up to the seven of you to decide."

"We won't let you down Karen." Veronica chimed, smiling goofily, and Karen threw her other arm around Veronica's neck.

"You better not kiddo, or I'll have you clean up the entire training area alone. Now then, show our new recruits their bunkers. I think that Nico will fare better sharing with Akira since she's his half-sister and you and Annabeth can share a bunker."

"I'm getting thrown out of my own room?" Veronica whined and Karen punched her in the head for the obvious question.

"Duh, and you'll share your new one with Annabeth. As for Percy and Nikolai, they get a bunker together. I wouldn't want Percy going off and trying to hurt Darien for touching what belongs to him." Nikolai blushed a deep, scarlet red and Percy frowned slightly.

"How did you know?" Karen smirked and walked over to Percy, having released both of the other demigods.

"It was obvious by the way you were so jealous of Darien hugging him and by Nikolai's reaction just now. Plus, you two came through holding hands."

"How did you know that?" Percy asked again, positive that no one had been around but Akira when they had arrived.

"I've got my spies all around this city, even the ones that demigods and hellhounds can't sense." Karen answered offhandedly, dismissing them with a slight wave and continuing looking over her floor plans and battle maps.

"Karen is busy preparing an assault on the demigod army that will arrive near here by morning. She figures that if she can lower the strength of one army, she can buy us some time to come up with a real plan for stopping this war."

"We don't even know who's behind everything." Annabeth pointed out and Veronica waved it off.

"Who needs to know that? All we need to know is how to stop them." Annabeth rolled her eyes and figured that it would be a long night once she was trapped with Veronica.

"May I steal them away for a few minutes?"

"Sure, the blond here doesn't seem to like me all that much at the moment."

"Maybe if you shut up for a few minutes than she would have a reason to like you." Akira remarked, taking the group to the training humans and demigods. "This is the group going out to fight with Karen tomorrow morning." Akira said as she stood in front of them with the others, and she watched as Percy, Annabeth, Nikolai, and Nico were stunned by the ages. Most of the demigod soldiers were around their ages or younger and most of the human soldiers were older. "Human children don't get mixed up in the resistance because they are too weak and will only be a liability in a battle, whereas demigods and goddesses of the same age can accomplish more without being liabilities, and the armies feel the same way." Akira said as the soldiers saluted her and the others. "At ease, I have some allies I'd like to introduce to you. This is Nikolai Samhain, Perseus Jackson, Annabeth Chase, and Nico Di Angelo, the remaining demigods of the prophecy." The soldiers cheered at the good news, but Akira stopped them with a raised hand. "However, just because they have finally arrived does not mean that victory is guaranteed. Many of you can still lose your lives, so, if you want to leave now, you know where the door is." No one left and Akira smirked. "Good, I'm glad to see that there aren't any cowards among you. You'll need your courage on the battlefield tomorrow. Continue training, but get plenty of rest."

"Yes ma'am!" The soldiers barked out, and Akira turned to her friends as the soldiers went back to training with each other.

"I'll take you to your rooms now, and I'll come get you when it is time for dinner." Akira led everyone to their rooms, Annabeth first, and to her annoyance, Veronica was already there. Akira took Percy and Nikolai to their room next, and she and Nico went to their room to talk. As soon as they were alone, Percy kissed Nikolai, who readily complied. He gasped as Percy and he went tumbling down onto one of the beds, but Percy didn't let up. Nikolai tried to push Percy off and Percy complied reluctantly, only to move downward to nip and suck on Nikolai's neck.

"St-Stop Percy…this isn't the time for that." Nikolai unconsciously tilted his head to reveal more of his neck as Percy nipped at his vein. Percy frowned and licked up Nikolai's entire neck, causing him to shiver at the electric sparks it sent through him. Percy smirked at the feeling of Nikolai shivering underneath his fingertips, but resigned himself to stop there.

"Just remember that you're mine only." Percy purred into Nikolai's ear, and Nikolai nodded immediately in affirmation, knowing that he would never want someone else. Sighing in relief, Nikolai got up and actually looked around the room, seeing something strange at the corner of the room. He got out of the bed and went straight to it, drawing Percy's attention. "What is it?" Nikolai shrugged and knelt closer to the small, glowing red light on the floor to examine it. Suddenly, the light flared and everything went dark.


	10. Chapter 10

**_Chapter 10: The Deal_**

_Nikolai was standing in a dark room, sensing an evil presence occupying the space with him. A man with white hair, broad shoulders, and cold, black eyes stepped out from the shadows and sat on a throne of solid marble a couple of feet in front of Nikolai. "Who are you?" Nikolai asked, but he knew the answer. _

"_I am your father." _

"_Where am I and why am I here?" Nikolai demanded, wanting to escape and go back to Percy and his friends. Cronus sneered at his son's thoughts, hatred for Percy boiling up in his veins. _

"_You love that bastard, don't you? You would do anything for him, wouldn't you?" Nikolai didn't like where this was going, and backed up as his father stood and started to come closer. "I am not the one controlling this battle, but I know who is. If you let me use your body, I can guarantee that Perseus will not be killed." _

"_Why would he be killed?" _

"_Jackson has been a thorn in the Titans' side for a long time, and we were particularly glad when he finally died. Now that you have brought him here with you, he will be considered the most prominent threat out of all of you. After all, he thwarted Rhea and myself, and we are the strongest of the Titans. He is the first of the seven demigods that will be hunted down." _

"_Why would I let you use my body?" _

"_I want to see how this plays out with my own eyes. I will not harm your friends, if that is what you are so worried about. So, do we have a deal son?" Cronus extended his hand to his son and Nikolai frowned, wary of the deal. He didn't want Cronus to take over his body, but he didn't want Percy to die. _

"_Never." Nikolai said, and Cronus let his hand fall to his side, a sinister smirk on his face. _

"_You will come around eventually. I know you will."_

Nikolai woke up in his bed, Percy sleeping in the chair next to it. Nikolai stared at Percy's sleeping form and felt a sickening dread in his stomach. _Percy won't die, I won't let him._ Silently, Nikolai crept over to Percy and considered waking him up, although he found that his eyes automatically fell to his lips. As Nikolai sat in front of Percy, lost in his thoughts about his talk with his father, the pair of lips that his eyes rested on cracked into a smirk. Grabbing Nikolai's wrist, Percy held him in place and kissed the startled boy.

"I was wondering when you would wake up." Percy said, hugging Nikolai, who frowned but didn't say anything about it.

"Where are the others?"

"They're all helping prepare for the ambush and starting to get ready themselves. Why do you look so worried?" Nikolai turned away so he wouldn't have to look Percy in the eyes when he lied.

"I'm not worried. Is Karen sure that this will work?"

"Not really, but it's supposed to just buy us some time to figure out what is going on." Percy replied, sensing that something was off about Nikolai. "Let's go eat, I bet you're starving." Nikolai didn't reply, he just simply went with Percy and they ate alone at their table in the dining hall.

"It appears that something is troubling Nikolai." Akira said, watching him and Percy from the shadows with concern evident in her dark blue eyes.

"I wonder what it could be. Hopefully, it's nothing too serious. He's already got a lot on his plate without something else being added to it, we all do." Karen replied, watching Percy attempt in vain to figure out what was wrong with Nikolai, who just kept brushing his questions off with lies. "Come Akira, we must prepare our troops and get them some armor. I honestly don't want a confused kid fighting in a battle, but we don't really have a choice in the matter."

"I'll tell Jacob to find –" Akira was suddenly cut off as an explosion sounded from the entrance of their underground hideout.

"We've been discovered! Prepare your troops and try to stop them in the tunnel!" Akira quickly saluted her and melted into the shadows, shadow travelling to where her squad of demigods and humans were suiting up in their armor. Karen grabbed the mike in her office and shouted orders into it, even though most of the demigods were already reacting on the combat instincts that she had hammered into their skulls. "Prepare for combat! Get in your squads and prepare to engage the enemy!" With that, Karen's locket transformed into a fierce, Celestial bronze sword and she ran past the teens and adults that scrambled to get ready and straight into battle.

Nikolai and Percy were fighting deep in the underground labyrinth of caves, fighting off enemies that were trying to get to the medical tent where the injured were being treated. Darien and Annabeth were fighting somewhere in the mash of demigods and goddesses, but Nikolai had long since lost track of them. Nikolai was fighting off several boys twice as big as him, so he didn't notice the lithe little girl that snuck up on him and stuck him with a needle coated in tranquilizers, but he immediately felt the prick and its effects. Nikolai collapsed to the ground as his body relaxed and weakened against his will, so much so that he couldn't even attempt to fight off the boys that yanked him to his knees and held him there.

"We want you to watch as we kill your friend." One of the boys hissed into his ear as a girl disarmed Percy with lightning fast reflexes and had him at the edge of her sword. "Finish him!"

"Yes sir."

"_I'll do it!"_ Time froze before the girl could thrust her sword into Percy's throat and Nikolai felt the effects of the drugs immediately vanish.

"What was that Nikolai? I'm not sure if I heard you correctly." Cronus said, standing in front of his son, who was still being held in the iron grip of the frozen boys.

"I said that I'll do it. You can have my body if you swear on the River Styx that Percy won't get hurt." Cronus smirked at the defeated sag in his son's shoulders and the equally defeated flatness to his voice, although it also sounded like he would cry.

"I swear on the River Styx that Percy will not be harmed." Cronus said, rolling his eyes, and then everything went black to Nikolai.

Percy didn't expect to still be alive, or for Nikolai to suddenly throw both boys into the girl that had been about to run his throat through with her sword only seconds before. Immense power radiating off of Nikolai in waves and he grinned sinisterly. Omega Augury flew into Nikolai's hands and he put the bottoms of their hilts together, the two dual swords merging together to form Backbiter, the scythe Percy thought he would never see again. The opposing demigods and goddesses were quick to attack Nikolai, but he easily finished them off and went over to Percy, glaring down at him with golden eyes.

"I should do away with you, _Percy_, but my deal keeps me from it." Nikolai's voice was mixed with a deep voice that Percy thought he would never hear again. _It can't be!_

"What have you done to Nikolai?" Percy asked Cronus, grabbing Riptide and readying it to fight Nikolai.

"My son just decided to let me use his body. It's your own fault, if you want someone to blame, for being too weak to protect yourself. I offered him a deal and he took it, for _you_." Cronus smirked at Percy's crestfallen face, and then he glared at the demigods. "Take me to my brother. I wish to have a word with him." Cronus commanded, the demigods quickly scrambling to take him away. "Goodbye Jackson and good riddance." Cronus sneered, leaving with the army to go meet up with his brother, while Percy stood in shock and watched him go. Percy fell to his knees as Annabeth and Darien came running over to him.

"Percy, you're all right! Where's Nikolai? Is he okay too?" Annabeth asked, but Percy didn't answer, making both her and Darien worry. "Where is he? Percy, what happened?" Annabeth asked again, and Percy muttered so low that they barely caught the words.

"Cronus took control of his body because of me. I was going to die, so he made a deal with Cronus to save me. It's all my fault." Percy, for the first time ever, broke down and began to cry. _It's all my fault._ Darien went ahead to tell Karen the news and Annabeth stayed by Percy's side, knowing that her dearest friend couldn't be left alone, not while he was at his weakest.

_Nikolai, you have no idea what you've just done._


	11. Chapter 11

_**Chapter 11: Attack**_

Cronus took in his surroundings with little interest evident in his golden eyes. The condo was large and extravagant, the furniture a bloody crimson red and the tapestries, curtains, and carpet were all a bright gold. Sitting in the large, leather armchair at the center of the room was Prometheus, who had inhabited the body of a twenty-two year old blond man. "Hello Cronus, I see that you've acquired yourself an interesting host."

"That I have, and I have come because I want to know what you are doing here. I assume that you're in control of both fighting armies, am I correct?" Prometheus grinned and sent his guards to stand outside.

"That you are. I have pitted the Romans and the Greeks against one another, each believing that the other is to blame for the destruction of their camps and the imprisonment of their trainers."

"Did you take Morpheus?"

"Of course I did. Those pesky gods would have used him to communicate with their children. Keeping him locked up has proved a most wise move."

"And the prophecy hardly concerns you?" Prometheus laughed at the mention of the prophecy.

"You must be joking. That prophecy will not come to pass. I have destroyed the camp of their only allies and they have no way of stopping me. How could they, if they don't even know that I'm the one running this show?" Cronus smirked cruelly. _This is going to be easier than I thought._

"What do you plan to do when the demigods have destroyed each other?"

"Take over the world of course."

"No you won't." Backbiter suddenly appeared in Cronus's hands and the scythe sliced through Prometheus's middle like a hot knife through butter. Cronus kicked the corpse halves away in disgust and glared at the few demigoddess servants still in the room. "Get rid of this body and clean this rug." He ordered as he sat in Prometheus's armchair, grinning like the Cheshire cat. _His plan wasn't half bad, but he was a fool for thinking that I would work under him. Now, I'll just let his little plan play out and reap the rewards._

Darien could see a block of condos and one specific condo seemed to be the one that the most people were going in and out of. "I know where Cronus is." Darien said, and Karen pulled out the floor plan of the building that Darien had given her the address of, marking all the places where he had seen guards.

"All right, I want Akira and Nico to shadow travel and check our numbers for the guards in that building and around that condo. Darien, I want you and Annabeth to take two pegasi and do a sweep of the initial area. Percy, you and Veronica will stay with me and help me with this floor plan."

"You don't need both of us for that! Let me go out with Annabeth or –"

"You will stay with me. It would be too risky to send you out. We don't know which Titan is controlling everything, but they obviously believe that you are the greatest threat. The attack here was to get rid of you specifically because you have the most experience in foiling Titan plans." Karen said when she interrupted Percy, her eyes daring him to object or argue. Percy bit his lip and remained silent. The others went out for their tasks and Veronica smiled.

"What's the reason that I'm here boss? I could have helped Annabeth and Darien, but you asked for me to stay instead. Why?"

"The second we get the information on the building and the surrounding area, we're moving out. You and Percy will be going in through the disused sewer line. It will put you two outside of the building, and I'll have Annabeth and Darien move in from the roof." Karen turned and looked directly at Percy. "You two have a special mission: to reverse Nikolai's deal with Cronus and bring him back to us. Annabeth, as Athena's daughter, will probably be able to figure out who is behind this during the attack. She's bright enough to be able to decode it simply by the Titan's choice of décor. Many of them favor certain elements that the others don't, which makes identification easy. Once we have Nikolai, retreat and we'll figure out how to deal with the Titan in due course." Percy looked behind her and noticed that she had turned her microphone on so the others could hear her.

"I'll keep my eyes open for any such hints." Annabeth said, and Karen thanked her. Percy and Veronica basically watched as Karen wrote down the information, satisfied only once she got every single detail down. Then, she rattled off a plan over the intercom after only five minutes of deliberation.

"Annabeth and Darien, you two enter from the roof. There's an air duct there big enough for the both of you. Enter through there and exit it as soon as you see a grate. It's not too strong but it should last until then. Nico and Akira, how do you guys feel about bringing Mrs. O'Leary out there to help you distract and draw out some of the guards?"

"That's fine. We'll hold them as long as we can." Nico replied, and Karen turned to Percy and Veronica.

"Get going already, while the rest of us distract the soldiers that are out patrolling the streets. It's about time that we showed them just how much we appreciated having our home destroyed." Karen said, and her soldiers cheered from outside of her door. Veronica and Percy both grinned and Karen showed them to the door to the sewers in their underground hideout. "The water should guide you two safely there. Be careful and don't take any unnecessary risks. We'll be having a celebratory dinner later, and I was thinking that I might let some of our cooks make some sweets."

"Really? We're so going to be back soon, especially if you're going to make a chocolate cake too."

"Of course I will. Might as well go all out and do so." Karen replied with a grin, seeing them off before heading to her soldiers. "Let's go! They're counting on us to distract our enemies. Nobody take any unnecessary or dangerous risks. I want to see as many of you come back alive as I can." "Yes ma'am!" The men, women, and children of the resistance barked back at their commander, and Ares's daughter smirked. She pulled out her cell phone charm, a white skull with ruby eyes, and it transformed into a broadsword that was nearly as tall as she was. "Father, if you can hear me, protect my warriors well. Bestow Nico, Percy, and the others with enough strength to carry out their missions." Karen smiled sadly and led her soldiers out of their hideout and out of the church, straight out into the open of the deserted streets.

Akira and Nico looked dead into each other's eyes and knew exactly what to do. Nico whistled and Mrs. O'Leary appeared from a shadow, tail wagging and happy until the soldiers came out of the building. She growled at the approaching army as she grew back to her normal size. "Shall we get ready?" Akira asked, unsheathing her black katana, and Nico nodded, his black sword appearing in his hands. The army froze as the ground was ripped apart and the bodies of the dead rose up to fight them. The second the last skeleton rose from the ground with his sword, the battle began.


	12. Chapter 12

_**Chapter 12: End**_

Annabeth and Darien crawled through the surprisingly spacious vent hurriedly, rushing to get to a grate before the vent collapsed. Already, they could feel it shaking under their combined weight. Annabeth spotted the grate, being the one in front, and unscrewed it using her knife. She silently dropped down and onto a guard, knocking him out instantly, and Darien dropped down behind her, knocking out the guard that had come at her. "Let's go. The condo is on the tenth floor and we've got five floors of enemies to get through unnoticed." Darien nodded and they crept as silently through the halls as they could.

Percy and Veronica ran through the sewer tunnels, the voice of the water guiding them to the building as they ran. They found the nearest manhole, which opened out right in front of the building, and Percy climbed up the ladder first, moving the manhole and immediately seeing Nico, Akira, Mrs. O'Leary, and an army of skeletons fighting the demigod army, which was paying no attention to Percy and Veronica whatsoever. Akira nodded in their direction and slashed her katana, an arch of shadows flowing from the slice and destroying the doors and anyone in its path. Veronica and Percy immediately ran inside, the entire lobby having been cleaned out from Akira's attack, and they ran to the stairs because the elevator was too risky. As they climbed up to the tenth floor, they encountered several guards racing to deal with Nico and Akira and disposed of them quickly and silently. By the time they even made it to the tenth floor, both of Poseidon's children were covered in blood. Veronica and Percy quickly disposed of the two guards and opened the doors to the condo, only to find themselves looking directly at Nikolai. "How are you the one behind this?" Veronica asked, stunned, and Nikolai, no, _Cronus_ smirked.

"I originally was not, but I am now. An old friend of mine was behind all of this, but I disposed of him to take over instead. Kill the girl and capture the boy alive. I want him locked up under only the strictest watch." The demigoddess servants pulled out their swords and attacked Percy and Veronica, who were outnumbered dramatically. Both were shocked when Annabeth and Darien arrived, but not long after they came more guards entered the battle. Cronus watched as the demigods and goddesses fought each other, and he felt Nikolai's worry and fear for his friends starting to surface. Cronus quickly shoved Nikolai's emotions back where he was and continued to watch as Veronica was forced to the ground by a blond daughter of Ares with a sickle and chain, a portion of the chain wrapped around Veronica's leg, which was how she had ended up on the floor in the first place. The girl threw her sickle at Veronica's throat, and Percy blocked it, nearly cutting himself on the sickle as it wrapped around Riptide's blade. Annabeth saw the brief flicker of fear in Cronus's eyes and realized what kind of deal Nikolai had struck.

"Percy, cut yourself on that sickle!" Percy didn't think to question Annabeth in the slightest bit; he let the sickle slide near Riptide's hilt and cut the back of his hand shallowly. Cronus clutched his head and screamed, a scream so loud that it seemed to deafen everyone in the room. Cronus dropped to his knees and the some of his servants ran to his side.

"Lord Cronus, are you all right?" A brunette asked, and, when Cronus looked up, Percy found his heart leaping with joy at the sight of Nikolai's mercury eyes. Suddenly, Omega Augury appeared in his hands and he forced himself to activate his power as far as it could go. Time froze all around the city, and Nikolai weakly released certain people. Percy, Darien, Annabeth, and Veronica ran over to him and hugged him, but he was too weak to do anything but let them.

"Are you okay?" Percy asked, and Nikolai collapsed to his knees, Percy caught him somewhat.

"Too tired to hold this for long…have to…tell the truth."

"Can you freeze people but unfreeze the rest of time so that they can hear you?" Annabeth asked, pulling the intercom over to the exhausted demi-titan, who nodded. "Darien, can you broadcast this over the city?"

"Yeah, give me the intercom." Annabeth handed Darien the intercom and he held it next to Nikolai, who unfroze time but kept the people frozen.

"The Titan Prometheus was…using the Roman and…Greek demigods to his advantage. He…captured Morpheus to…stop dream messages from the gods…and he kidnapped…the trainers of both camps and destroyed the camps. He…wanted the demigods…to destroy each other…so that he could…rise and…take over the world. Prometheus is dead now…Cronus killed him." Nikolai seemed to be fading out of consciousness, and they let him. He had done his part, the truth was out and known to all those that were fighting. As he faded out, people started to unfreeze and the demigods and goddesses deactivated their weapons, shaking their heads and disgusted with how easily they had been tricked.

"We have to find Chiron, Morpheus, and Lupa." Annabeth said, everyone suddenly activating their weapons as a shadow portal appeared in the room. Mrs. O'Leary, Nico, and Akira stepped through, followed by Chiron and a she-wolf.

"Thank you for finding us you two." Chiron said, but Akira waved it off.

"You have no reason to thank us. We were just doing our duty." Akira said with a bit of a smile on her face. Nico nodded in agreement with her, and they looked over at Nikolai.

"How is he?"

"Cronus is gone and everything is over. Nikolai just needs some rest now. Hopefully, people will be able to get back on track and recover from this war." Percy said, holding the unconscious Nikolai close. He would have to have a serious talk with him once he woke up.

"Would you like to come back to Camp? We could use your help rebuilding and such." Annabeth was delighted and the others seemed to consider it.

"Annabeth, you'll be more useful helping them rebuild than we will be." Darien said.

"Sorry, but he's right. The rest of us will only stand in the way. Darien, Veronica, and I already have a home, but thank you for the offer." Akira said, and Nico sighed.

"I think I'll go help with Annabeth. I can have some skeletons help rebuild the camp as well."

"You'll always be welcome back with us." Akira said, and Nico hid his glee.

"I'll be back; I just want to help rebuild." Akira nodded, she understood him perfectly, and Nico couldn't help but smile this time. He had almost forgotten how nice it was to have an older sister that cared about him. Akira kept him from missing Bianca so much, and he was grateful for her.

"Percy, what about you?" Chiron asked, turning to look at the teen.

"I'm not sure what I'll do, but I have to take Nikolai to Karen's medics. I don't have a choice in the matter, but I'll think about what I want to do while I'm watching over Nikolai." Chiron nodded his approval and he left with Annabeth and Nico via Nico's shadow portal, Lupa nodding his direction as well and running off.

"I'll take you to where they are now." Akira said, creating a new shadow portal and taking the others and Mrs. O'Leary to the battlefield.

Karen had been in the middle of charging at a demigoddess using a barbed whip when she suddenly couldn't move her body. Then, she had heard Nikolai's weak voice explaining what had happened. Not long after he had stopped, she was able to move again, rolling and deactivating her weapon to avoid killing the girl she had been charging at. Karen rolled right into the girl and they both fell to the ground. Smirking, Karen pulled the redhead to her feet. "You just got lucky girl. I would have killed you otherwise." Karen said as the girl put her whip away. The girl didn't even deny it either, she was no fool. Karen had taken out a large portion of the girl's comrades single-handedly, and knew that she would have fallen as well had that boy not saved her life.

"I feel like a fool for believing that, if we followed him, he would help us win the war."

"Everyone was fooled." Karen replied, looking back at the younger girl with a grin.

"Be useful and bring us your wounded. I obviously have more, better prepared medics than you but your medics can share in our supplies. Just get everyone wounded to us immediately." Karen said in the silence of the battlefield, and everyone rushed to gather the wounded. Those that could heal and work as medics gathered what supplies they had and went to the large circle Karen's medics had created as they healed the wounded already given to them. Suddenly, Akira, Darien, Veronica, and Percy stepped through a shadow, Percy carrying Nikolai, and Karen smiled. "I'm glad to see that everyone's in one piece. Since Nikolai doesn't seem to be in dire need of assistance at the moment, he'll have to wait for medical attention. In the meantime, make yourselves useful and start bringing the injured over." Karen demanded, and everyone but Percy jumped to follow her orders. Percy sat on a patch of grass with Nikolai lying with his head resting in Percy's lap, watching as everyone worked together to gather the injured. He just couldn't believe that it had all ended so quickly, but he was glad that it had, and that he had Nikolai back. Karen watched Percy stroke Nikolai's hair lovingly and smiled softly, the smile vanishing as she went back to barking orders and surveying the damage to the street and the armies. _Not too many are dead but a lot are injured. A few will have to get amputations, but, overall, things ended pretty smoothly. Thank you dad, even though you probably love bloody wars._ Karen felt a hand on her shoulder and turned around, not truly surprised when she didn't see anyone behind her.


	13. Chapter 13

_**Chapter 13: Content**_

Nikolai awoke to find himself lying in a bed back in the same room he had shared with Percy, and Percy was beside his bed again, his hand in Nikolai's. _Is everything really over?_ Percy woke up and smiled at Nikolai, kissing him softly on the lips.

"Good morning, you've been asleep for an entire day now."

"What did I miss?"

"Not much. Annabeth and Nico went back to Camp Half-Blood to rebuild it and everyone else stayed here. Oh, those with family still living are going back to live with them while the rest of us are going to try to find our own lodging. The demigods without family are going to Camp Half-Blood and the Roman camp, depending on whose children they are. The rest of us that aren't going are going to live with Karen in her family's mansion. Apparently, her father is a movie director who went away to work in Australia just before the war broke out. We'll get to meet him before long." Nikolai felt tears start to well up and he hugged Percy tightly, burying his head in Percy's chest.

"I'm sorry. I was stupid to make that deal, but you were going to be killed so I had to. I couldn't let you die." Nikolai said, and Percy sighed.

"Never do something so risky again. I don't want to risk losing you ever again." Nikolai nodded into his chest and Percy laid down, rolling and pulling Nikolai on top of him. Percy ran his hands through Nikolai's hair as the other teen simply laid on top of him, relaxed and truly at peace for the first time since they had gotten to that time. That is, until Veronica opened the door and smiled at them.

"Awwww, ya'll were getting all lovey-dovey in here while the rest of us are worried sick about Nikolai. That's a bit mean but you two look so cute that I'll forgive you." Veronica took out her camera phone in an instant and snapped the picture, running off before her older half-brother could chase her. Percy would have, but Nikolai wouldn't move.

"Let her go, I can just reverse the time on her camera phone so that the picture doesn't exist if it bothers you." Percy kissed Nikolai's forehead.

"The picture doesn't bother me, but I'm afraid of what she'll do with it. She might go around cooing over it for the rest of the day." Nikolai smiled and started to drift off again, but cracked an eye open when he heard someone else enter the room, Veronica complaining about Karen taking her phone.

"Taking unwanted pictures of people is rude." Karen said as she deleted the picture and threw the phone back to Veronica, who pouted and left. "I made both of you breakfast and we'll be leaving out to go to my mansion after you're ready." Karen wheeled in the cart with their trays of breakfast on it and left them to eat. Percy and Nikolai ate quickly and packed up the few clothes that they had, not that surprised that everyone else was already ready. They were surprised to see their rough and tough leader, who was dressed in her signature pair of khaki shorts, a red t-shirt, and black combat boots, heading towards a black limo.

"Miss Walton, shall I help you and your friends with your bags?" The muscular chauffeur asked, and Karen shook her head.

"No thank you Sam, we're just fine." They loaded their bags into the trunk and climbed into the back.

"He has a good body for running on the battlefield." Veronica whispered and Karen shook her head.

"He may be toned enough, but he doesn't have the stomach for battle. That's why I left him back at my house to take care of it, along with the rest of the mansion staff. That part of town was rarely touched so they were safe." They talked about how the last mission had gone and Nikolai filled in whatever gaps they had about what had happened after he left with the demigods from Prometheus's army. Soon, they were driving through a set of iron gates and up a hill, parking in the driveway that swung around the marble fountain at the center and right in front of a large mansion. "Make yourselves at home, for this is your new home." Karen said, stepping out and going to get her bags from the trunk. Everyone else quickly did the same and she gave them a tour of the place, the staff becoming ecstatic to see their young mistress alive and well, virtually unscathed physically except for the scar running down her left eye. "Pick whatever bedrooms you want. I'll send word for the maids to go into town and find everyone some more clothes in your sizes, since everything is basically worn through from battle." Veronica jumped Karen and smiled brightly.

"Let us see your room! I've always wanted to know what your real room looks like!" Karen rolled her eyes but opened the door to her large room. The entire room was done in red and gold: the carpet was scarlet, the walls were crimson, the drapes and furniture had red with golden patterns on them, and so did the comforter set on her four-poster bed. The desk was mahogany and had a large stack of books resting on it. Hanging all over the wall closest to the bed were several blueprints of her house and the grounds around it, several places marked with red X's and circles.

"Those are my plans for if I had to defend my house. I made them when I was little and edited them continuously as I grew older until they were perfect." Veronica was amazed that Karen had been a strategist even back when she was a kid, but it didn't really surprise her. She couldn't imagine Karen sitting around and playing with dolls unless she was using them to plan an escape route or to reenact a battle. They left to go chose their rooms and found that Karen had had certain rooms tailored to them secretly, all of them at least a room apart but in the same area except for the ones she had for Nikolai and Percy. Those were in the other wing of rooms on the first floor and right beside each other, connected together by a door on the wall they shared. Nikolai's room was like a bigger version of the one from his home, and Percy's resembled his from Camp mixed with the one from his apartment with his mother. It made him a little homesick, but with Nikolai by his side it didn't stay for long.

"I love you Nikolai." Percy said, kissing Nikolai on the lips, and Nikolai smiled softly when he pulled back.

"I love you too Percy." They laid in Nikolai's black bed together and slept the day away.

Nikolai desperately fought the urge to run and hide back in his room as Percy pulled him along towards where the Olympians met. "Percy, what if he doesn't like me? What if someone kills me on the spot? What if he never wants you to see me again? What if –"

"Enough with the worries already. Dad will love you."

"You stopped the war, after all, so they can't just vaporize you on the spot." Karen added as she walked beside them. She knew that Nikolai could outrun Percy, so she had come to keep him from escaping. She grabbed Nikolai's other arm and helped Percy drag him into the room, and all of them quickly bowed to the Olympians, and to Hestia. Percy had been shocked to find that Karen frequently gave offerings to the goddess of the hearth, but understood why. At her hearth were the people she loved and cared about, the people she fought alongside and commanded.

"Which one of you would like to speak first?" Zeus asked, and Karen took charge automatically, as she was used to doing.

"Thank you father for giving us the strength to win and not letting too many of my comrades fall in battle." Ares glared at Percy but smiled softly for his daughter. She was the first of his children, after Clarisse, that he actually cared about. She had spunk, strength, and the military intelligence that you would have expected from a daughter of Athena.

"You're welcome. Just don't go soft now that things have calmed down." Ares replied, stopping to glare at Percy for a second and look down at Karen with love in his fiery eyes.

"I won't, I can guarantee that. Going soft is going against everything I believe in." Karen said confidently, intent on continuing her training even if there seemed to be no reason for doing so other than fighting monsters that rarely came after her. "Percy, you may go next." Karen said with a smile, Nikolai looking down bashfully at his feet, his heart hammering away in his chest.

"Dad, this is Nikolai Samhain, Cronus's son, and I'm in love with him and he loves me back. I wanted you to meet him in person and stuff." Percy said a bit nervously, but none of the gods and goddesses before him decided to vaporize Nikolai or him.

"Nikolai, why won't you look at me?" Poseidon asked, sounding a bit hurt, and Nikolai quickly looked up with a blush as he explained.

"Honestly, I'm scared that you won't like me."

"That's nonsense! I've been watching you two since Aphrodite here pushed you together, and I must say, she's couldn't have chosen a better mate for my son." Aphrodite smiled smugly and Nikolai smiled.

"I guess we should thank you then."

"No thanks are required; it's what I do." Aphrodite said, and Poseidon took back over.

"I completely approve of you two being together."

"Why didn't the others come?" Zeus asked, wanting to see if they knew what was waiting for them back home. Karen knew, but Percy and Nikolai were oblivious.

"They said that they didn't want to be a bother for some reason, even though that's never stopped them before." Nikolai said, and Zeus smirked.

"Since your business is done here, you may leave. I'm sure you wouldn't want to keep everyone waiting." Karen dragged her boys out and down to the limo, and straight into the dark house.

"I thought everyone would be home." Nikolai said, and the lights switched on.

"Surprise!" Everyone yelled as they jumped out of their hiding places, nearly giving Nikolai a heart attack.

"What the hell are you all doing hiding and scaring people like that?" Nikolai hissed out even as Darien hugged him.

"We got a party together to celebrate you and Percy being approved by his dad." Nikolai pushed Darien off and looked at the others, a bit surprised that Nico and Annabeth were there.

"How did you guys even know that he would approve?"

"The Greeks have never had a problem with same-sex relationships, you're a good guy, and you make Percy happy so Poseidon had no reason to object." Akira said from her perch on the couch. She and Nico hadn't bothered to hide, merely masking themselves with the shadows until the lights came on.

"Kiss him!" Veronica yelled and Percy wrapped an arm around Nikolai's waist, pulling him closer.

"Oh I will." Percy smirked and kissed Nikolai lovingly on the lips as the others cheered. Nikolai felt lightheaded and happy. _I can't believe that I'm actually happy now. I want this moment to last forever._ He stopped time as he and Percy kissed, feeling Percy smirk against his lips as he deepened the kiss. Percy pulled back for air and time returned to its normal flow, Nikolai blushing and panting softly. Veronica and Darien jumped them with chocolate cake slices and Percy laughed as Nikolai chased Darien away with Omega Augury for nearly knocking him to the ground in another hug. They were all happy, as they deserved, and they partied and played until late into the night, content and happy with their newfound lives.


End file.
